Wiping action dispensing structure



Aug. 9, 1966 K. E. GUEST WIPING ACTION DISPENSING STRUCTURE Filed July 16, 1965 United States Patent 3,265,248 WIPING ACTION DISPENSING STRUCTURE Kenneth E. Guest, Elmsford, N.Y., assiguor to Safety First Products Corporation, Elmsford, NIY. Filed July 16, 1965, Ser. No. 472,430 1 Claim. (Cl. 2224) This invention relates to an intermittent use dispensing structure for dispensing dry powder and more particularly to a valve for dispensing dry powder having a wiping act-ion means therein for wiping clean the conduit walls to thereby effect a gas tight valve seat.

It is an objective of this invention to provide a valve for use in dispensing dry powder fire extinguishing chemicals having wiping means therein for effecting a gas tight seat to the conduit walls used in transporting said dry powder.

This and other objects of this invention will become apparent upon reading the following descriptive disclosure taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawing in which;

FIG. 1 is a side section view, broken away in part, of the valve disposed on a tank for holding dry powder fire extinguishing chemicals at high pressures,

FIG. 2 is a detail view of the valve plunger in seated position and showing in outline the position of the plunger in dispensing position,

FIG. 3 is a front view of the valve showing the dispensing spout,

FIG. 4 is a detail section view of a modified plunger having spring loaded means for arresting the return travel of said plunger, and

FIG. 5 is a detail section view of another modified plunger and showing a co-iacting valve seat.

Turning to the drawing, a conventional cylindrical tank for holding dry powder fire extinguishing chemicals under elevated pressures is provided with a circular opening in which an internally threaded cylindrical connector means 11 is secured in a gas tight manner by means of welding 12.

An important feature of this invention, is the provision of a valve housing 13 having a centrally disposed cylindrical borehole of varying diameter therein.

The housing 13 is provided with a depending annular portion 14 having exteriorly disposed screw threads for engaging the co-acting threads disposed on the connector means 11. The interior of the housing portion 14 is provided with screw threads for engaging a conventional syphon tube nut 15 having a syphon tube 16 secured thereto.

The housing 13 i further provided with an upright portion 17 through which the borehole passes. A projecting rectangular stud 18 is provided to the rear of the housing. A screw threaded lateral passageway 19 is provided in the front wall of the housing, connecting the central borehole to the atmosphere. A conventional horn spout 20 having a screw threaded nib is threaded into the passageway 19. A U-shaped handle of stamped metal 21 is secured rigidly to stud 19 by means of a pin 22.

The housing 13 is provided with a circular flange 23 having a circular channel therein and an O-ring 24 therein for bringing about a gas tight joint with the lip of the connector means 11.

A plunger 25 is disposed in the central borehole so as to protrude beyond the upright portion 17. A conventional handle 26 is provided with a conventional front spacer plate 27 having -a aperture through which the nib of the spout 20 passes thereby locking the spacer plate to the housing 13. The spacer plate 27 is secured hingedly to the handle 26 by means of a pivot pin 28 and a suitable spring 29 having extending ends is disposed on pin 28 to continuously urge handle 26 away from the spacer plate 27.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conventional safety pin 30 is disposed between the spacer plate 27 and spring 29 and into an aperture provided therefor in the upright portion 17 of housing 13 and in the plunger 25. The top of the plunger 25 is secured pivotally to the handle 26 by means of a pivot pin 31.

A significant feature of this invention is the provision of a circular channel 32 in the bottom of the plunger 25 (FIG. 2) and the provision of an O ring of resilient plastic material to form a wiping sliding action against the inner wall of the central borehole while maintaining a gas tight valve seat during the entire wiping procedure.

In the plunger modification shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the central borehole is provided with a small top diameter communicating with a larger central borehole section of intermediate diameter, which latter in turn communicates with the bottom borehole section of largest diameter. The plunger 25 is provided with a top cylindrical section 34 of relatively small diameter having -a circular channel in which a resilient plastic O ring 35 is disposed. The plunger section 34 co-acting with the O-ring 35 prevents passage of dry powder chemicals through the top of the central borehole.

The center of the plunger 25 is provided with a section of least diameter and this section is disposed in the borehole section of intermediate diameter to provide a chamber to effect a uniform mixing of the gas and dry powder in the housing 13 before being dispensed at the spout 20.

The bottom of the plunger is provided with an enlarged diameter section 36 containing the Oring 33 in its channel 32 and disposed in close proximity to the borehole wall of largest diameter.

According to this invention the plastic O-ring 33 function simultaneously as a wiping blade and also as a valve seat. Thus to operate the extinguisher (FIG. 1), the safety pin 30 is pulled and the plunger 25 is depressed toward the syphon tube 16 by moving handle 26 toward stationary handle 21 until O-ring 33 is disposed below the circular edge 37 (FIG. 2) whereupon the dry powder fire extinguishing chemicals, for example sodium bicarbonate, are propelled by the high gas pressure in the tank 10 up the syphon tube and into the valve housing mixing chamber 38 of the central borehole. The mixed cloud of chemicals is then directed upon the fire by means of the spout 20.

After the fire is extinguished the hand grip on the handles 21 and 26 is released causing the spring 29 to push the handle 26 upwardly until the O-ring 33 engages the adjacent surface of the bottom of the borehole whereupon the gas pressure in the tank and syphon tube help push the plunger 25 upwardly, FIG. 1 and 2. The upward movement of top portion of the O-ring 33 on the powder covered walls of the borehole sweeps the borehole clean by a wiping action so that the central portion of the O-ring produces a gas tight seal with a powderfree borehole surface making the extinguisher ready for subsequent use without refilling. As shown in FIG. 2 the bottom of the plunger 25 is provided with a circular stop arresting flange 40 which limit the upward movement of the plunger :and thereby permits alignment of the apertures in both the upright housing portion 17 and plunger portion 34 to permit insertion of the safety pin 30.

As shown in FIG. 3, the h-ouisng 13 is provided with conventional gauge means 41 and conventional recharging means 42 having conventional conduits communicating through the housing element 17 with the interior of the tank 10.

A modified plunger 50 is shown in FIG. 4 which coacts with a modified housing 13X having :a modified borehole providing a horizontal ledge 51 for an arresting coil spring 52. In the modified plunger 50, the plunger is provided with a relatively long top cylindrical segment 53 integral with a short bottom segment 54 containing a channel 32 and a plastic resilient O-ring 33. In this modification a suitable coil spring 52 is substituted for the arresting flange 40 of the plunger 25 to effect an arresting of the upward plunger movement.

In FIG. 5 there is shown another modification wherein a modified housing 13Y is provided with a central borehole having a long top portion and a short beveled bottom portion oflarger diameter. The plunger 60 is provided with an intermediate section of lesser diameter than the top and bottom sections to provide the aforesaid mixing chamber. In this modification the borehole is provided with a beveled surface 61 and the bottom of the plunger 60 is provided with a co-acting beveled surface62. In this modification the arresting of the upward movement of the plunger in the borehole is effected by engagement of the surfaces 61 and 62.

Whenever a tank becomes empty of dry powder fire extinguishing chemicals, it is readily refilled by introducing more dry chemical fire extinguishing chemicals throught aperture 19 (FIG. 2) and then the tank is recharged by introducing gas at suitable pressure into the tank through a conventional tire valve 42.

This invention has for its generic concept the provision of wiping means to etfect a simultaneous cleaning and valve sealing of a dusty passageway and accordingly is not limited to the illustrative embodiments herein showing this concept in use.

I claim:

An intermittent selectively operated dispensing structure for dispensing fire extinguishing chemicals from a. tank under high pressure comprising a valve housing having a central borehole therethrough consisting of a top relatively long borehole portion of smallest diameter, a relatively short intermediate borehole portion of larger diameter and a bottom borehole portion of largest diameter, said housing having a lateral aperture communicating near the bottom of the smallest borehole portion and with the atmosphere, an integral plunger having a top portion of a diameter substantially that of diameter of the smallest borehole portion, an intermediate plunger portion of least diameter disposed in a portion of the borehole to form a mixing chamber, and a bottom plunger portion disposed in the intermediate borehole portion, said bottom plunger portion having a circular groove, and a plastic resilient O-ring disposed in said groove and in gas tight sliding-Wiping relationship to the intermediate borehole portion wall surface whereby said intermediate borehole wall surface is wiped free of dry powder to form the gas tight seal.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 695,016 3/1902 Ware 251-211 1,835,020 12/1931 De Forest 251-211 2,120,297 6/ 1938 Reinecke 169-31 X 2,530,583 11/1950 Nurkiewicz 169-31 3,051,652 8/1962 Olandt 169-31 3,176,887 4/ 1965 Potapenko et a1. 239-579 X ROBERT B. REEVES, Primary Examiner.

RAPHAEL M. LUPO, Examiner.

N. L. STACK, Assistant Examiner. 

